Advantages

Disadvantages

Duzzit didit for me

My house never seems to have enough hooks placed exactly where I want them; any I have had in the past that were not fixed permanently by screws, soon parted company with the walls or doors.

In the kitchen, for instance, I like to hang my Jay-cloths and any other dishwashing implement, up to dry. There is nothing more irritating than soggy kitchen paraphernalia adorning the worktops.

I bought a couple of those hooks with 'suction-cup' action, rather like the Sat Nav car window fixtures. Each costing around 20p - that should have spoken volumes about their potential efficiency, but obviously I was not listening.

For the first day or two, they remained stuck to the kitchen tiles above my sink and draining board, just the right position for the wet cloth to drip harmlessly into the sink. On day three - CLUNK, one fell noisily, straight onto the drainer before rolling and dropping into the sink with another clunk. Moses, until then was fast asleep, but leaped off the sofa to investigate, before I could even mutter, "What was that?" The remaining hook followed suit a few days later, with the same response from Moses.

I had the same problem with lack of hangers for bathing gear, such as flannels, sponges and those soft, nylon scrubbers. Things dry out much more quickly if they can be hung on a hook.

Another problem, I had in the kitchen was a shortage of hooks on which to hang small kitchen tools, you know the sort, whisks, spatulas, fish slices and the like, all of which take up valuable drawer space and somehow get entwined with each other.

A few weeks ago, I was browsing around WH.Smiths, in truth, killing time whilst waiting for the bank to open, when I spied the JML Duzzit Handy Hanger kit, which I had previously seen advertised on TV; and like most JML products, was priced at £9.99. I did hesitate for a moment or two, but then saw that the box contained 10 hooks, which was more than enough for my requirements.

------------------------------------------- So - What did I get for my £9.99? ------------------------------------------- Pictures of the contents are displayed, along with instructions, on the front, sides and rear of the box. Personally, I find this sort of information very useful. So often I have bought items, not knowing how to fix or use them without opening the box to find the instruction sheet.

Inside, were 10 cream plastic mounting discs, about 3cms in diameter. 5 white plastic, angular utility hooks and 5 white plastic, curved wardrobe hooks about 3.5cms in diameter. A wire disc remover, to remove the disc at a later date if need be; and an electrical applicator which has a 10p piece sized heating element on the front. Finally, a simple instruction leaflet with safety tips and directions for use.

The mounting discs can be applied to most household surfaces and it is claimed that when applied to ceramic tiles, glass, painted walls, painted wood, enamelled appliances, plastic and sheet rock, that the discs will support loads of up to 2.3 kg (5llb).

However, when a hook is placed over the disc, it is recommended that no loads greater than 1.4 kg (3llb) be hung on the hook.

----------------------------------------- How to glue disc onto a surface. ----------------------------------------- Each disc has the appearance of a slightly flattened boater hat. (3mm from crown to rim) On the outer, flat surface of the 'crown' of each 'hat,' is a thin layer of solid glue. The chosen site for the disc must be clean, dust free and dry.

The vaguely gun-shaped, electrically heated applicator has a 1.75cm metal disc on the front, which when pre-heated for 5 minutes is fitted inside the 'hat' (disc) to melt the glue.

Once the applicator has been heated, a disc is placed onto the metal element. After 30 seconds it is then positioned onto the clean dry surface and held in place for a further 30 seconds, after which the applicator can be removed and switched off - Job done. Nothing should be hung from the disc for a further 24 hours, to allow the glue to set and bond strongly to the surface.

Items can be hung directly from the disc by looping a wire over it, or hung indirectly, by sliding one of the hooks over the 'hat brim.'

Each disc can only be fitted once, but can be removed by attaching a wire to the applicator, reheating the glue and tweaking off with the wire; any residue glue should be wiped from the surface before it sets solid again.

--------------------------- My experience with it --------------------------- I read and faithfully followed the instructions to the letter and found the whole kit simple to use.

I found that if you sneeze, laugh, hiccough or twitch while holding the disc in position for the last 30 seconds, you will get a trail of glue down the wall where the disc has skidded. This happened to me with my first attempt - the doorbell rang and I jumped.

I also discovered that whilst the discs are held firmly in place and the hooks fit snugly over the discs; whenever I pulled my cloth from the hook; the hook slipped off the disc. However, I overcame this annoyance by slipping a thin slab of blue-tack behind the hook so that it remained stuck to the disc.

I have used this to put hooks in the kitchen, bathroom and on the backs of doors. All have been in place now for several weeks and not one has come unstuck, despite heavy coats being hung on occasion from the ones on the doors.

No more noisy clunks from the kitchen either. Even now a whole year on, the hooks have remained in place.

December: 2013: So far so good, the hooks I put up are still in place and show no signs of slipping off the wall.